The two artists from Berlin and Australia were guests at the Ceramic Artist House in April and May as part of the Ceramic Artist Exchange Tandem Program.
Olivia Pils (Berlin) worked on two series titled „Candy Boxes and Other Creatures“ during her time at the Keramikkünstlerhaus. Each series, in its own way, places the human body at the center. The first series features several body-like objects crafted from modeled porcelain built using slab construction techniques. Fired in a gas kiln, the pieces now bear a greenish, cold sheen. The cool, refined aesthetic of porcelain is disrupted by the imperfect surface finishes and the addition of real human hair.
The second series is also made of porcelain: candy boxes. Stripped of their functionality, the playful shapes with pink and glittering surfaces tell stories about the body image within the Catholic Church.
Photo: Jantje Almstedt
Sassy Park (Sydney, Australia) presents works in the exhibition that reflect her personal connection to Germany with both humor and seriousness. In her twenties, during the 1980s, the artist lived in Karlsruhe and Berlin and later married into a family with a strong German heritage in Australia. During her time in Neumünster, she visited local museums and developed a particular interest in the traditions, people, animals, houses, and landscapes of the region. These personal connections, along with her fascination for the German language, inform her text-based vessels, painterly sculptures, and clay paintings featured in the exhibition.
Photo: Karl Schwerdtfeger, Sassy Park, Jantje Almstedt